Messy, Mixed-Up English

Messy, Mixed-Up English

Top of Mind with Julie Rose

The Environmental Protection Agency, Picky Eaters, Messy English, Russian Poison

Episode: The Environmental Protection Agency, Picky Eaters, Messy English, Russian Poison

  • Oct 10, 2018 11:00 pm
  • 9:51 mins

Guest: David Eddington, PhD, Spanish Philology and Linguistics, Brigham Young University English doesn’t even crack the top ten list of most difficult languages to learn. But it has quirks that make it hard for non-English speakers to master – why does the word wrong start with a w? And the word knight – like “knight in shining armor” – has three silent letters. There’s actually a really good reason why English has so many strange spellings.